Toy guns which shoot or launch projectiles have been very popular for many years. These guns have been designed to launch projectiles in a number of ways. A common method of launching has been by the compression of a spring which propels the projectile upon its decompression or release, as, for example, with BB guns and dart guns. These guns however usually do not generate enough force to launch projectiles with great velocity.
Toy guns have also been designed which use compressed air to launch projectiles such as foam darts. These types of guns use a reciprocating air pump to pressurize air within a pressure tank. In use, a single dart is loaded and the pump is typically reciprocated several times with each firing of the gun. Therefore, the gun must be loaded and pumped with each firing as it is not capable of firing several darts in sequence. The sequential firing of a gun may be desired for those playing a mock war or other type of competition. Guns which may fire several darts in sequence typically have a moveable magazine which contains several darts. However, because the magazine is movable it is very difficult to create a seal between the conduit conveying compressed air to the magazine and the magazine itself.
Compressed air guns have been designed with O-ring type seals between the conduit and magazine. However, this type of seal is maintained in contact with the magazine as the magazine rotates or otherwise moves in indexing the projectiles therein. This movement of the magazine against the seal causes rapid wear which destroys the seal and thus causes an air leak which drastically decreases the guns efficiency.
Compressed air guns have also been designed which have spring biased couplers extending from the conduit to the magazine, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,931. These couplers are biased so that they are continuously forced against the magazine so as to optimize their sealing capabilities. Should the coupler also include a O-ring types seal, the seal is still in contact with the magazine as it rotates and therefore still becomes worn over time. Again, this wearing will eventually destroy the sealing capabilities of the seal and cause a drastic decrease in the guns efficiency. Should the coupler not have an O-ring type seal it typically does not provide an air tight seal between the coupler and the magazine, hence they do not fully solve the sealing problem.
Accordingly, it is seen that a need remains for a toy air gun which may efficiently fire a sequence of projectiles. It is to the provision of such therefore that the present invention is primarily directed.